Guardian Angel
by Ruaitae
Summary: Slightly AU. Faith has just killed Allan Finch in a dark alleyway, with Buffy her only witness. In steps a mysterious person with the sole intent of helping the Dark Slayer face what she has done and return to good fight. Or risk losing her to the Darkness - Forever
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"I didn't... I didn't know. I didn't know," she whispers, her throat dry as Buffy tries to stem the flow.

Faith stares in shock at the scene that she had unwittingly caused. She can vaguely hear the blonde saying something to her but it's like her entire body is frozen. She just stands there, shocked and disbelieving until she hears something, startling her out of her stupor.

"Come on, we gotta go!" she hisses, grabbing Buffy and not so gently yanking her up onto her feet. She pulls her out of the alley and into another one, running from the scene and reminder of her mistake.

From the opposite side of the narrow passageway, from the civilian street, a tall figure steps into the dirty alley. Casually walking up to the dumpster and kneeling down to study the cooling body. "Well… the bosses ain't gonna be happy about this," a husky Boston voice mutters, a hand reaching out to flick the blazer open to find some folded papers.

"What's this?" The figure takes the papers and with a hand moves the blazer back into place. The figure unfolds the papers - straightening up - and looks over the meticulously typed up report. "Well… this puts things into perspective," this person mutters before hearing the wailing sirens of a police car as well as the soft steps underneath it.

As quiet as a mouse the person slips into the shadows just before Faith rounds the corner, her eyes dark and intent on the ground. They dart up - just for a moment - to land on the cold body and she kneels next to him. "What did I do," she whispers, unaware that there is a guest nearby, "I… I didn't…know." She reaches out to the wound, the grievous injury she had inflicted upon him and just as her fingertips brushes against the cold coppery blood she yanks away her hand. Guilt and horror flashes across her face before she wrestles them into submission, her hands shaking slightly as she thinks about the seconds leading up to this. She curls her hands into a fist as she gnaws on her lower lip - suppressing the want to cry out against the world. She hadn't meant to kill someone.

Her hands flexes several times before she nods curtly to herself and she moves to pick up the body. "I'm so sorry," she mutters softly before shutting down every emotion possible as she walks into another alley.

Once her footsteps fade away from the alley the figure steps out of the shadows, dark eyes peering into the direction where Faith had disappeared into. "What a cruel world, neh?" the person mutters before turning upon sensing someone else. A tall blonde man steps into the alley, his nose crinkling at the dirty scene, and walks up to the shadowed figure. "Michael, what are you doing here?" the person greets the blonde.

"The boss wanted you to know that you're to fix this mess," the man states coldly, removing what seems to be a pocket watch from his rather fancy vest, glancing at the face.

"There wouldn't be a mess if you freakin' igits had let me go to her the second-!" the person growls before being punched in the face. The person stumble back, a hand reaching up to rub at the offended jaw.

"Speak like a proper woman!" Michael snaps angrily, eyes glowing red briefly. The person growls angrily at the man, straightening up.

"Grow up, Michael!" the woman snarls, "I don't need you or anyone else telling me what to do!" The man grabs her by the neck and slams her into the building, holding her tightly.

"You will recall that your behavior is the reason why our bosses wouldn't allow you to return to your duties!" He squeezes, feeling the growl in her throat, for a second before releasing her. "You best learn to watch your steps or else you will be stripped of everything and retired."

In the dim light from the streets Michael can see that her entire body is tense and her face is especially stony before he gets a curt nod from her. Once that has been established he hands her a folder and straightens his blazer. "This is your last chance, one wrong move and there's a good chance they'll yank you," he tells her, his voice softer. She looks up from where she had been staring and nods in acknowledgement of his words. "Good luck." With that he walks away, disappearing in a flash of light.

She straightens her clothes and brushes her hair back into place before walking out of the alley. "May as well start now," she mutters as she checks the folder.

* * *

Buffy paces back and forth, unsure of what to do, how to deal with the events of the last twenty-four hours. Things had seemed so normal when she woke up that morning. How could it deteriorate so much? She sighs and tangles her hands into her hair, desperately trying to sort her thoughts.

"Penny for yer thoughts?" she hears a husky voice ask and she turns to find someone standing by the bench she just passed. She squint her eyes at the person and finds that it's a woman - a dark chestnut haired woman, her hair cropped into short layers that easily gives her a butch appearance. A pair of dark leather pants and a tight maroon red wife beater shirt tucked into the pants - both of which reminds her greatly of Faith, a thought she is surprised by.

"Who are you?"

The brunette shrugs, "A friend if you want one." The brunette moves to sit on the bench, relaxed in the dead of night. Buffy - suspicious of the fact that this person seems to be uncaring of the fact - moves closer and the woman looks at her. "I'm sure that you'd already know if I'm a vampire or not," the woman says to her, startling the blonde Slayer.

"How did you -," Buffy starts.

"I know a lot of things, Buffy Anne Summers," the brunette answers, producing a rather thick folder and opening it. "Born in 1981, you lived a rather normal life until your eighth year where you witnessed your cousin's death at the hands of a demon portraying himself as a doctor - leaving you with a phobia against hospitals. At the age of fifteen you received the Calling and were found by a Watcher named Merrick Jamison-Smythe. Who later commits suicide to prevent a vampire, Lothos, from turning and using him against you - loyal guy you got there. After defeating Lothos you were committed to an insane asylum by your parents when you told them about what happened at Hemery High and about being a Slayer - released several weeks later under the belief that you regained your sanity." The woman looks up and finds Buffy staring at her in shock. "Shall I go on?" Buffy shakes her head and sits down heavily next to the brunette.

"How did you…"

"I'm not yer average person, Buffy," the brunette answers, flipping a few pages. "Great job facing yer fears with the Master," the woman comments as she pauses briefly on a page, "I'm only sorry that ya died, as temporary as that was."

"Who gave you this?" Buffy asks, snatching the file away only to discover that the papers are blank. "What in the-," she starts.

"It's unreadable to anyone who isn't like me," the woman explains, touching a page. Before Buffy's very eyes words appear in a flowing style that almost reminds her of the fictional language by Elves. Now that she could see the words she could understand what the woman means - to her it's pure gibberish. Laughing softly the brunette takes the file back and closes it.

"Now, I believe that's enough from memory lane," the brunette says. Buffy turns so that she's facing the woman and notices that she is contemplating something. "Just a few hours ago you and Faith were…" she pauses as she considers the right word for this. But it wasn't necessary for Buffy knew exactly what she's talking about.

"It was an accident, I swear!" she cries, jumping away from the bench and renewing her pacing.

"Buffy, I'm not blamin' ya for somethin' ya had no control over. It was in the heat of the moment," the brunette smooth the blonde, remaining seated and watching the Slayer absorb her words. "Slayers with more trainin' than ya have made the same mistake as ya," she continues before sighing. "My main concern is for Faith," she confesses.

"Why, I mean she has proven that she can handle anything," Buffy immediately regrets her words when the brunette glares at her sharply.

"Buffy, you both killed a man," the brunette snaps at her. "No matter what anyone says no one is ever okay with it." The brunette sighs and rubs her neck. "Look, can you just watch after her for now? She has suffered so much lately that it wouldn't take much for her to crack wide open." The woman stands up and starts to leave, only to stop by a quite belated question.

"What's your name?" The brunette turns around and in the soft glow of the street light behind her she seemed a bit otherworldly to Buffy.

"My name is too dangerous to tell you right now, Buffy Anne Summers. But should you ever need me go to the highest point in this town and I'll be there," the woman tells her, turning partly at this point.

"No matter the time of day?" she asks the woman.

"No matter the second, minute, hour, or day," she confirms before disappearing into the shadows.

* * *

Faith sits in the corner of her motel room, fingering the bloody white shirt as she contemplates the last twenty-four hours. Where did it all go wrong? How? Why? Questions she didn't have answers to. Answers she desperately wishes she has. She balls up the shirt and enters the bathroom, turning the water on and grabbing the detergent to start cleaning off the blood. She scrubs as hard as she can before screaming in frustration and almost throwing her fist at the drywall, just barely stopping herself.

She opens her fist and presses her palm against the wall, closing her eyes as she lets her memories come to her.

Flashback

"_FAITH, RUN!" a frantic husky voice shouts at her, a heavy hand pushing at her back - encouraging her to move. Twice she stumbles and twice her best friend grabs her arm and pulls her back onto her feet. _

_Behind them a car backfires and next to her the fitting form of her best friend jerks forward, almost sending her crashing down. "Keep running!" the brunette urges her, pushing her towards the well-lit street, turning slightly and revealing a black wetness clinging to the teenager's back. _

"_Al!" _

"_Keep running Faith!" the brunette snaps before lunging for the gruff looking man that had been chasing them with a small gun and an ancient knife. She runs to the exit and turns back when she hears another backfire and sees her best friend falling with the man on top, the dull knife flashing dimly in the light before it is buried in her friend's chest. _

"_ALEX!"_

End Flashback

She jerks out of her memory at a sound, her entire body tense as she turns towards the motel door. Panic chills her bones until she hears a familiar voice on the other side saying, "Faith, it's me." Leaving the shirt in the sink she goes to the door, opening it to reveal the blonde Slayer. She glances briefly into Buffy's eyes before turning away. "Hey," the blonde greets.

"Hey." She walks back to the bathroom, listening to Buffy close the door behind her and follows along, and returned to cleaning the shirt.

"So, I, uh…" Faith glances at Buffy to find her wringing her hands as she tries to think. "How are you doing?" the blonde Slayer finally asks.

"Five by five," Faith mutters, still scrubbing, "You know me."

"Yeah. I know you think you can handle this. And you're used to being on your own. You got your tough loner act down pretty well." Buffy watches Faith as she roughly handles the shirt she's trying to clean. "And maybe it's not an act, but right now, we need each other. We need to talk about what we're going to do."

The dark Slayer balls the shirt up in her fist before exhaling harshly through her nose. "There's nothing to talk about. I was doing my job."

"Being a Slayer is not the same as being a killer." Faith spreads the shirt out to finish scrubbing the material. "Faith, please don't shut me out here. Look, sooner or later, we're both going to have to deal." The dark Slayer yanks the sink plug and turns the faucets on full, allowing the water to run over the shirt before wringing it out.

"Wrong, B, you and I don't have to deal with nuthin'."

"I can help you."

Faith turns to her, the shirt in her fist, "I don't need it." She brushes past Buffy and yanks open a drawer to hang the shirt from.

"Yeah, well you're wrong, Faith. You can shut off all the emotions you want, but there's still the fact that sooner or later they will find a body," Buffy points out and this catches the brunette's attention.

"Okay, this is the last time we're havin' this conversation, and we're not even havin' it now, ya understand me?" Faith points a finger in Buffy's face. "There _is_ no body. I took it, weighted it, and dumped it in a river. The body does not exist."

Buffy is flabbergasted by what Faith just said. "Getting rid of the evidence doesn't make the problem go away!"

"It does for me." The brunette turns away as a memory pops up unbidden by the whole thing and her hand wraps around the edge of the dresser.

"It does for me."

Buffy covers her mouth with a hand, her eyes extremely worried. "Faith… you don't get it… _We_ killed a man."

Faith turns to her, catching that. "No, Buffy, _you_ did nothing. You had no part in this!" Her face becomes stony for a moment. "You didn't plunge that stake into his heart…" She shakes her head. "As far as I'm concern, this problem is gone. The fact that I _killed_ a man, well I don't care!"

Buffy's mouth open and shut several times before she shakes her head, leaving the motel room.

* * *

Buffy dusts off her hands, glad to have scaled the side of the building without any mishaps, and find a pretty sight waiting for her. "How is it I never thought to do this before?" she asks out loud in awe, staring at the darkness that has fallen over Sunnydale. The lights within the houses are causing the black landscape to twinkle - almost as if the earth doesn't exist and the sky just keeps going and going.

"Not many people take the time to enjoy the little things," she hears a husky voice comment and she turns to find the brunette from the previous night perched high on the billboard of the mayor. "Hello Buffy," the woman greets her.

"Hey," she returns. She looks for an easy way to reach the brunette and finds nothing that suggests a way. "How did you get up there?"

The brunette chuckles darkly for a moment. "That's another thing I can't tell ya."

"Too dangerous…?"

"Something of the like," the brunette answers before jumping down to face Buffy. "So, what happened this mornin'?"

"You already know about that?" The woman sighs and crosses her arms, waiting for Buffy to answer her question. Upon seeing the expression on the brunette's face Buffy clears her throat. "Well, I went to the motel where Faith's been staying since she came into town," she notes the dark expression on the woman's face and moves away slightly, "I wanted to talk about what happened last night. She really didn't let me say much and well…"

"She pushed you away," the brunette concludes for the Slayer.

"Yes…"

The woman leans against the railing that keeps the workers from plunging to their deaths as they put up the next image for the billboards. "Faith has never been one for trustin' people. I'm afraid it got worse after her tenth birthday." The brunette looks over the town, her dark eyes seemingly looking for something. "She developed a habit of pushin' people away, especially those who are tryin' to reach out to her," she looks at Buffy, "She never learned how to distinguish a person from others."

"… She trusted that woman, the-," Buffy starts to say.

"The fired Watcher, rather infamous for her abuse of the Dark Arts," the woman interrupts with a dark expression on her face, "Yes, she took advantage of Faith's want to be accepted by someone. Somethin' that could have been avoided had a certain Slayer made an effort." Buffy winces as she caught the point that the older woman was making.

"I failed… big time."

"Indeed ya did," the woman mutters softly before removing an ancient ceremonial knife, the lights behind them glinting off the dull blade. Buffy notices the blade but after eyeing the woman for a moment, makes no move to comment or take it. "Listen to me now, Buffy. The watcher sent by the Council, I don't trust him. Not one little bit. He's too new to the scene; he will go by the textbook." She turns to face Buffy. "The second he finds out about the accident and the fact that she covered it up he will call for backup from the Council."

Buffy frowns and starts to say something but is stopped by a raised hand. "Buffy, ya don't see the things I do. Tell me, what do ya think Faith will do when ya try to convince her to tell Giles what happened." Buffy struggles to find an answer but knows that Faith will refuse to tell the watcher. "Tell me, what do ya think she will do when she thinks that she's in danger? What do ya think she's gonna to do when that idiot watcher from the Council do somethin' and try to get her sent to England?" A subtle growl has begun to escalate and Buffy is stunned to realize that it's coming from the woman before her.

It takes a minute to shake off that strange feeling. "Okay, so…" Buffy rubs her face as she tries to think. "Wesley can't find out about what happen or else everything is going to go to hell," she mutters. "At the same time I need to get her to talk to Giles."

"Ya can't tell him by yerself. Or else she will think yer betrayin' her." Buffy looks up, dismayed that she can't do that. "Ya understand why?" the brunette asks the blonde and it takes her a minute to calm herself and nod her head.

"It all boils down to trust…" she mutters softly.

"That it does… I'd help, Buffy, but… it's not time yet." Buffy looks puzzled at the older woman and she notes it. "I'm bound by certain rules, Buffy. I'm responsible for her," Buffy is still puzzled by what the woman is saying, "But the rules surroundin' me is… well, it's pretty much impossible for me to try and help her."

"You really care for her?"

A soft huff of laughter leaves the mysterious older woman. "I died for her," the woman confesses before turning to leave. "Ya best get home, Buffy. Yer ma may be aware of the fact that yer a Slayer now but that doesn't mean ya should keep her up at all hours." Buffy nods her head and starts to leave only to stop when she hears a soft whisper. "Best enjoy yer days with yer ma. Nevah know when she's gonna be taken by Death." A chill goes through her when she hears that and she scrambles down the building, anxious to get away and go find her mother.

The woman remains on the roof of the building, overlooking the town. "Faith… I'm sorry," the brunette mutters before disappearing into the shadows.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for CMiller13, InsideThisFantasy, ray1, MayhemPrincess, KM Rune, and GeorgyPorgy for following my story. I hope this one doesn't disappoint.**

Chapter 2

Buffy paced back and forth in her bedroom for a few moments, her eyes dark and worried as she considers the nightmare she had. She hates drowning. She rubs her neck, recalling the Master's bite and the moment she drowned.

The man, he had been drowning her… But the worse part of it was Faith, she had shoved her back underwater, trying to drown her.

"Dreams… they mean something," she mutters as she tries to decipher what she saw. With a reluctant sigh she drops it and goes to the bathroom to wash up, stopping when she overhears something. "We go now live to our field reporter, who is standing by at the waterfront with this breaking news about the murder that has shocked the Mayor and residents of Sunnydale." She could see the T.V. from where she stood and edges closer to see a footage of a boat retrieving an awfully familiar body. It is the man who they killed previous night.

"Fishermen discovered the body today, the victim of a brutal stabbing. Authorities and citizens alike were shocked when the slain man was identified as Deputy Mayor Allan Finch." She pales as she realizes that the man is a big public feature. His death would not be something easily overlooked. "Still reeling from the news, Mayor Wilkins had this to say," and the news switch to a press conference with the Mayor standing before the camera.

"Mr. Finch was not only my longtime aide associate, he was a close personal friend. I promise you, I will not rest until whoever did this is found and brought to justice. Thank you very much."

By this time Joyce has noticed Buffy, "Oh, honey, you're up." Buffy just nods her head, stunned beyond belief at this point. "Oh, it's just terrible isn't it?" she asks, her attention back at the TV. What she didn't see is the very pale look on her daughter's face and the fact that she practically runs back to her own room.

* * *

Faith comes to a rather simple conclusion. She didn't want be there, listening to Wesley, in the high school library. She props herself up on her fist, peering lazily at the new Watcher - watching him pace back and forth.

"I want you to look into this," he tosses a newspaper onto the table and she looks at it to see the headlines. 'Deputy Mayor Murdered!' blazes across the paper and she looks up at Buffy who looks nervous and uncomfortable. "Find out everything you can about the murder of the Deputy Mayor."

"But that's… I-I mean, that's… That's not really our jurisdiction, is it?" Buffy stumbles over her words while Faith mentally shakes her head, tense as she thinks quickly to cover for her. She'll get them exposed if she doesn't rein in those emotions.

"It's no big, B," she tells the blonde Slayer calmly, "We'll get into it if he wants."

Giles shakes his head, "No, Buffy's right. The Deputy Mayor's murder was the result of human malice." He doesn't notice the Slayers exchanging looks. "There's nothing supernatural about it." Buffy ducks her head slightly while Faith frowns, turning her head away slightly.

"We don't know for that for certain," Wesley argues. "I say it merits investigation."

Giles gets up and walks around to face Wesley directly, "Which I'm sure the police are doing. Meantime, if you ask me, there are better uses for the Slayers' time." Faith couldn't help be a little angry that he's defending her, always defending her.

"Ah," Wesley starts snootily, "But I don't believe I did ask you." He had held up the daily paper out to Giles as he said this.

"Considering the success of your previous adventure…" he starts and Faith has to bite back a laugh, recalling that he apparently squealed like a girl when he had to fight a vampire. Before Giles can continue Cordelia walks into the library and Faith redirects her attention.

"Don't let me interrupt. Wait, let me interrupt. I'm in a hurry," Cordelia says. Faith laughs, covering it up with a cough, at the girl's attitude.

"What did you need?"

"Uh, psych class. Freud and Jung, book me?"

"Happily," Giles says before disappearing for the book.

Cordelia looks bored as she looks around until she sees Wesley. "Check out Giles: the Next Generation. What's your deal?"

"Uh, I, uh… Well…" Faith just about lost it, trying not to laugh, "I'm a…"

She finally takes pity on the man and leans forward on the table. "New Watcher," she answers simply.

"Oh," the brunette cheerleader frowns, probably revising her opinion on the man.

Wesley turns to Buffy with an irritated look, "Does everybody know about you?"

"She's a friend," Buffy defends herself.

"Let's not exaggerate," Cordelia puts in. "So… You're the new Watcher."

Wesley offers his hand, "Wesley Wyndam-Pryce."

Cordelia smiles at him, "I like a man with two last names. I'm Cordelia."

"And you teach psychology," he injects with a smile.

"I _take_ psychology," she corrects him.

"She's a student," Giles informs him as he walks past them with Cordelia's books. Wesley immediately drops her hand like hot coal.

"Oh, well. I, uh," he clears his throat, "Yes. In fact, I am… here to watch… girls." Buffy and Faith snickers behind their hand as he struggles to stop stammering. "Uh, uh, Buffy and Faith, to be specific," he manages to say before turning his gaze away.

Cordelia, not one to let someone off the hook, steps closer. "Well, it's about time we got some fresh blood around here."

The poor Watcher could only laugh nervously, "Well, fresh… yes."

Giles, having already stamps the due date into the books, hands them over to Cordelia. "Here we go."

"Thanks," she tells him before turning briefly back to Wesley. "So, welcome to Sunnydale." She walks out of the library with an extra swing in her hips, drawing Wesley's attention to her back like moth to a flame.

"My… she is cheeky, isn't she?" Wesley mutters.

"Uh, first word: jail. Second word: bait," Faith snickers from behind him.

"Ahem," he clears his throat as he pulls out his handkerchief - removing his glasses to start cleaning them. "Well, uh… where were we?"

"Done," Buffy says as she slips off the table, "I mean, we were done, right?"

Faith, following Buffy's cue, stands up, "Yep. Off to patrol, so we'll see ya."

"One moment, girls, I'm your commander now. And on the matter of this murder, I am resolved. Natural or super, I want to know," he orders. Faith glances at Buffy and shrugs her shoulders.

"Fine by me," she says to him. "Always ready to kick a little bad guy butt." She touches her hand to Buffy's shoulder and the two of them walk out.

They did not travel far before ducking into an empty classroom. Buffy closes the door behind her while Faith hurries to the other door, checking to make sure that it is closed as well before going back to the other blonde Slayer. "So, yer gonna rat me out? Is that it?" she challenges the blonde when they meet in the center of the room.

"Faith, please, we have to tell Giles. I can't pretend to investigate this! I can't pretend that I don't know what happened to that man!"

"Oh I see," Faith sneers at her, "You can pretend that Angel's still dead when you need to protect him? And you can't do the same for me?!" At this point she's close to pushing the blonde Slayer.

"I _am_ trying to protect you!" Buffy exclaims. She stops and tugs on the ends of her hair. Trying to recall what the woman had told her about Faith. "Faith… I know that Giles and I haven't done anything to demonstrate that we trust you, that you can rely on us. I will rectify that as soon as I can, but right now… Look, if-if we don't do the right thing, it's only going to make things worse for you." Faith looks at her, distrust blatant in her eyes.

"Worse than jail for the rest of my frickin' life?" Faith snaps, "NO WAY!"

Buffy closes her eyes and silently pleas for guidance. "Faith… what happened… it wasn't just your fault…" She sees Faith start to interrupt and she hurries. "What happened, it wasn't the first time in Slayer history something like that happened! What we did was…"

"Yeah," Faith barrels in, "_WE_. Ya were right there beside me when this whole thing went down. Anythin' I have to answer for, ya do, too! Yer a part of this, B. All the way." The brunette storms out of the room, leaving a shell-shocked Buffy behind.

* * *

After that futile attempt of a conversation with Willow she ditches school and goes up to the highest building, the one with the billboard. No sooner did she climb to the top did she hear the subtle crunch of gravel. She turns around to find the brunette walking towards her, her face illustrated by the sun for the first time since they met. Before she had thought the woman to be in her mid-twenties, perhaps the late twenties, but now - with the aid of the stronger light - Buffy can see that the woman is actually younger than she thought. Maybe closer to her late teens or early twenties. She is still remarkably similar to Faith, wearing the tight leather pants and a tank top tucked into the pants, pulling the material taut over her flat belly and the curves of her chest.

Blushing Buffy realizes that she is staring at the woman's body and turns her head away. She hears the soft chuckles and wishes that she can go and die already. "Don't be embarrassed, Annie," the woman teases, "Nuthin' wrong 'bout lookin' at another gal's body."

"I-I'm not a," Buffy stutters.

The brunette chuckles and leans against the metal supports for the billboard. "Lookin' doesn't make ya a lesbian, Annie. It's the want, desire, to touch and taste 'em that makes ya a lesbian." Buffy nods her head stiffly before sighing. As if sensing the change in the air the brunette straightens up and starts flexing her hands. "May as well get it out of yer system, Annie," she tells the blonde tiredly.

So Buffy did, ranting about how Faith is just so stubborn. Refusing the very idea of trying to talk with Giles about what happened, even when she tried to explain that it's not the first time a Slayer has killed a civilian in the good fight. She took it all in and decides that she may have to retort to drastic measures soon. What those measures will be will depend largely on Faith.

"It seems like things will become worse before they start to improve… Though I will have to do what I can to ensure that the insufferable Watcher doesn't do something." Buffy looks at her, puzzled for a long moment. "I wouldn't worry about it," she tells the blonde. "Just be prepared for Faith to lash out at everyone. The closer people try to get to her the worse the pain she will try to give them."

"Is that her way of saying she loves them?"

The woman frowns and after a long moment she shrugs her shoulders. "Ya could say its somethin' like that." She turns to look over the town, her eyes dark even with the sun glaring down upon them. "Faith has a tendency to push back at people. The closer they are to her the harder she pushes." She looks over at the blonde and they stare at each other for a long moment before looking away from each other.

"Oh…"

"Oh is right," the brunette mutters. She's not looking forward to the next few days because she knows that the consequences of her back up plans may be worse than she is prepared for.

* * *

That night, on a scouting mission for Wesley, Faith and Buffy breaks into the City Hall - locating Allan Finch's office within minutes. Buffy closes the door behind them after checking to make sure the coast is clear.

"I'm tellin' ya," Faith starts darkly, "we did the world a favor." Buffy glances at Faith as she starts to ruffle around, listening to the dark Slayer settle herself into the chair behind the desk. "This guy was 'bout as interestin' as watchin' paint dry."

Buffy looks up uneasily at the other Slayer. "Faith…" she starts.

"Jeez, B, I'm joking," Faith reassures the blonde, a light smile appearing on her face before disappearing. "Lighten up a little." She looks across the deputy mayor's desk and notices a picture of him with the Mayor. While Buffy goes through the papers in his inbox the brunette picks up the picture frame and stares at it, cradling it gently between her hands. "He… he came out of nowhere," she mutters softly. She couldn't help but wonder if he has a wife and kids - how they're taking his death. The death she caused.

Buffy overhears this and slows what she is doing. Carefully keeping her eyes at what is happening before her. "I know," she whispers softly, recalling her own role in this.

Faith, suddenly aware that she's not alone in her own thoughts, becomes defensive. "Whatever," she mutters as she puts the picture back, "I'm not lookin' to hug and cry and learn and grow. I sure as hell ain't gonna sing Kumbaya with ya. I'm just sayin' it happened real quickly, ya know?" She quickly pulls open a drawer, finding that everything is neat and in place - indicating that Finch is very meticulous about his things.

Buffy has started to go through some papers lying on the top of the filing cabinets. Faith goes through a few more drawers before scowling. She sees nothing that suggests anything about the man aside from the fact that he is basically anal about his things - possibly has OCD.

"Ya know what? Let's just blow. Who cares what this guy was 'bout?" she scowls as she slips out of the chair. "It's kind of moot now, don't ya think?"

Buffy sighs and pulls open a drawer, noting that there is nothing in there. "I don't think he was in that alley by chance. I think he was lookin' for us," she comments, wondering for a moment how he knew about them but figures that because it is just a small town they are known. "I'd like to know why he wanted us.

"So, what, ya think there's some big conspiracy?" Faith scoffs. "I think ya got wacked in the head one too many times B."

Buffy closes the drawer and opens another one. All the folders in it are empty as well. Faith goes over to where the blonde is and sees this as well. "You were saying?"

"So his papers are gone," Faith shrugs, "That doesn't prove anythin'."

"Except that somebody didn't want us to prove anything," Buffy replies. She watches how an understanding look comes across her face and the dark Slayer looks at the drawer.

"That," she starts softly, "changes everythin'."

* * *

Buffy frowns as she considers what she had heard - crossing the street with Faith close behind her. It was shocking, discovering that the Mayor of all people is the new Big Bad for this season. Working with a vampire - and she can only guess just what else he is involved in - and they're planning something. What they might be up to, she doesn't know but the idea of it leaves her with an uncomfortable feeling deep in her stomach.

"So the Mayor of Sunnydale is a Black Hat," Faith starts. "That's a shocker, huh?" she finishes sarcastically.

"Actually," Buffy mutters, "yeah. I didn't get the bad guy vibe off of him."

Faith shakes her head, exasperated with the blonde. "When are ya gonna learn, B? It doesn't matter what kind of vibe ya get off a person. 'Cause nine times out of ten, the face they're showin' ya is not the real one." She couldn't help but think about how true that statement is for her.

Buffy looks at the brunette, a tight frown on her lips. "I suppose you would know a lot about that." Faith stops, turning to face her, with her eyes narrowed.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Buffy tries to reign in her emotions but they still swelled up, crashing against her mental hold on them. "It's just… look at you, Faith. Less than twenty-four hours ago, we killed a man. A-and now it's all zip-a-dee-doo-dah?" she shakes her head. "It's not _your_ real face and I know it!" She wrings her hands. "Look, I know what you're feeling because I'm feeling it too."

"Do ya?" Faith says insolently, practically sneering. "So fill me in 'cause I'd like to heart this."

"Dirty, like something sick crept inside you and you can't get it out. And you keep hoping that it was just some nightmare, but it wasn't. And we are gonna have to figure out…"

"Is there gonna be an intermission in this?" Faith interrupts.

Buffy rubs her face, hiding her pleading expression as she thinks of the woman that reminds her so greatly of Faith. "Faith… I know you don't trust anyone but we need to talk to Giles, okay? I swear…"

"NO!" Faith explodes, grabbing Buffy and dragging her into the nearest alley, shoving her against the wall. "We're not bringin' _anybody_ else into this! Ya gotta keep yer head, B!" She releases the blonde, stepping back as if she is surprised that she had reacted so strongly. "This is all gonna blow over in a few days," she promises, feeling hollowed as she say those words.

"And if it doesn't?"

Faith rolls her shoulders as she thinks. "If it doesn't, well they got a freighter leavin' the docks at least twice a day." She watches Buffy's face fall into disbelief. "It ain't fancy, but it gets ya gone."

"And that's it?" Buffy asks, "You're just going to run away? To live with the fact that there's a man dead because of us?" The blonde has taken to gesturing by this point. "You're just going to accept the fact that we're going to see a dead guy in our heads for the rest of our lives?!"

Faith steps closer again, "Buffy. I ain't gonna _see_ anythin'!" She leans in, boxing the blonde Slayer in. "I missed the mark last night and I'm sorry 'bout the guy, I really am." She pauses for a moment. She pulls away, "But it happens, B. Anyway, how many people do ya think we've saved by now? Thousands? And didn't ya stop the world from endin'?" She crosses her arms, "I dunno how ya see things, B, but in my book that puts ya and me in the plus column."

"But that doesn't mean we can do whatever we want! We were made to help people!"

"Why not, B? The guy I offed, by pure accident, was no Gandhi!" Buffy could hear a subtle growl taking root in the brunette's throat. "I mean, we just saw that he was mixed up in dirty dealings!"

"Maybe," Buffy admits before shaking her head. "But what if he was coming to us for help?"

"So maybe he was," Faith gives to Buffy. "But yer still not seein' the big picture, B. Somethin' made us different. We're warriors, we're built to kill."

Buffy becomes tense at those words, "To kill demons!" Her hands starts to gesture again. "But it does _not_ mean that we get to pass judgment on people like we're better than anyone else! Like we're gods!"

"We _are_ better!" Faith snaps and Buffy is taken back by it. Faith takes a deep breath as a smile starts to form on her face - pushing the guilt away as she comes up with a good excuse for what happened. "That's right… better. People need _us_ to survive," Faith tells her quietly. "When it's all said and done, nobody's gonna cry over some random bystander who got caught in the crossfire."

Buffy shakes her head. "What about his family? What about the people who knows him?" Buffy prods and Faith frowns. "What if we killed someone else? A true innocent who wasn't involved with some scheme? They're going to have someone to mourn for them…" Faith shakes her head. "Faith… if you were to die I'd cry for you." The brunette looks at her in disbelief.

"Well…" Faith starts before stopping herself. She doesn't know what to say so she turns her back on Buffy and walks away.

Buffy stares after her before sighing to herself and walks out of the alley, heading home.

Out from the shadows step the older brunette, her eyes following Faith for a long moment. "She's gettin' to ya now," she comments before she turns her gaze towards Buffy. "… Things will get worse before they get better," she whispers before turning back into the shadows, disappearing.

**I don't like begging but I'm kind of curious as to what is your opinion of this story. So please, review and let me know if this is worth my time or not. Other than that, have a good day or night (depending on where you're at of course)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello everyone! Since I hadn't updated for quite some time I decided to gift ya'll with an extra chapter! Along with my apologies for the late (extremely late) update!**

**Chapter 3**

Buffy was in a complete panic after the questioning by the Detective and she went straight to the meeting place. She doesn't know what to do and wanted her advice before she goes and do something they will regret. She still hasn't figured out the reason why this woman is intent on helping Faith through this but whatever the reason she's grateful for the woman is a lifesaver. She for some reason knew Faith extremely well and she had this innate feeling that something is going to happen relatively soon.

"Hello, Annie," she hears the brunette greets her, stepping out of the shadows like she owns it.

"Hello," she greets the woman. "Will I ever discover your name?" she asks.

"The time is drawing close," the brunette answers, causing Buffy to frown at her. "What seems to be the problem, Annie?"

"There was this… Detective. He came by my house earlier and asked a few questions about what I was doing last night," Buffy explains. She continues to explain the situation and the woman nods her head before sighing at the end of the explanation. "What are you thinking?" Buffy asks.

"…Do ya recall me tellin' ya that things will worsen before improvin'?" the woman asks the blonde, getting a slow nod. "The turnin' point is approachin', Annie," she informs the blonde. "Wesley cannot find out 'bout what happened. The second he does ya can kiss the -," the brunette cuts herself off and turns away to look across the landscape.

"Um…" Buffy didn't know how to ask the brunette what is bothering her and she can see - even in the darkness around them - that the woman is tense. Enough to probably lash out if she attempts to touch her.

"Do not talk to Giles in the library of yer school," the brunette tells her gruffly, moving to leave without any further advice.

"Wait, what were you going to say?"

The brunette pauses at the edges of the nearest shadows. "Annie," she starts, "ya need to get goin'. Faith is talkin' to yer Watcher at this very moment."

Buffy frowns and moves to leave, pausing for a moment to watch how the brunette literally seems to melt into the darkness. There one second and gone the next. It's eerie how the woman can just come and go like nothing she has ever seen before. By all rights she should be suspicious of her but her senses have not alerted her to the woman since she met the woman. As she climbs down the side of the building she wonders just how important Faith must be to her.

* * *

Buffy pushes past the library doors, noting that the lights are on but the open space is empty. "Giles?" she calls out for the Watcher. She doesn't have to wait long before he appears from his office. She gives him a halfhearted smile before walking up to the counter - hopping onto the wooden surface.

"Buffy, whatever the matter?" he asks worriedly.

"Nothing," she tries to reassure him. "Have you seen Faith at all tonight? I dropped by her place but I didn't find her." As she lies to him she sees the Dark Slayer appear from Giles' office.

"Ah, in matter of fact she just showed up," Giles tells her before giving her a questioning but stern look. "Is there something you wish to tell me?"

Buffy only shakes her head, "No, I'm good." She looks directly at Faith. "You ready to roll?" she asks.

Faith only shakes her head, "It's okay, Buffy. I told him." Those words alone makes Buffy giddy until she notices the fact that the brunette won't meet her eye now.

"You did…?" she asks, hesitantly. Something didn't seem right.

"Had to," Faith says in a voice that was just loud enough to be heard. "He had to know what ya did," she seems to choke out.

"What… I did?" Buffy says slowly before the meaning of what has been said sinks in. She turns to Giles, with a shocked expression on her face. "Giles…" she starts breathlessly.

The furious look on Giles face, however, keeps her from saying anything else. "I don't want to hear it, Buffy. You've been lying again, to me - to everybody. And worse, you made Faith keep your secret!"

Buffy looks away from him, to Faith beyond him. She can see the guilty look on her face and bows her head. "I'm sorry," she tells them and she can feel the astonished looks they are sending her. "It was a mistake, killing him," she continues with the lie, "It was so sudden that I - I couldn't stop myself from staking him."

"Buffy- Go to my office," she hears Giles say sternly. "Faith, I'll speak to you in the morning."

"Giles-," she tries to start.

"Now." Unable to get a word in edgewise she hops off the counter and goes to his office, slipping pass Faith.

"I'm…," Faith hesitates as Buffy passes her, "sorry,"

"I know," Buffy whispers, "I'll protect you." She doesn't look at Faith as she enters the office and she listens to Faith exit the library. Her boots heavy on the floor.

When she doesn't hear Faith anymore Giles enters the room and Buffy looks at him for a long moment. They look at each other before looking away.

"Tell me the truth Buffy," he asks of her firmly. Buffy looks at him again.

"I killed Allan Finch."

"Buffy…"

She shakes her head and moves to leave. "We are not having this discussion here." She couldn't hear Wesley but she was not about to take the chance. Not when things are so close to turning either way. Giles look at her in confusion. She shakes her head and pulls him out of the office and out of the doors, passing a befuddled Wesley before he can so much make a peep.

* * *

"Now explain yourself Buffy!" he exclaims loudly once they are more than five blocks away from the school with no chance of the cowardly Wesley following them. "And I know for a fact that you did not kill Allan Finch."

"Yes, Giles, I did," Buffy shakes her head, "I may have not staked him but it was me who threw him into her path. We had subconsciously set up a system, throwing vampires at one another to stake. Relying on each other." She looks up towards the sky, wondering if the woman will be making an appearance soon or if she will have to explain to Giles about what is happening with Faith. About talking with Wesley or even saying anything about it where Wesley can overhear can make the situation worse.

"Buffy… you should have come to me right off," Giles says to her.

"I know, but I needed her to trust me. If she lost all trust in me than anything we try to do would be futile." Buffy shakes her head. "I wasn't going to risk that."

"Buffy, this is not the first time something like this has happened."

"I know."

"The slayer is the first -," Giles had continued speaking as if Buffy hadn't said anything until his mind registers what she said. "How?"

Buffy waves it off, curious about one thing. "What do you guys do to the Slayers that kill humans? Accidental or otherwise."

"Well… The Council investigates, um… metes out punishment if punishment is due. But I… I have no plans -," he starts to say before Buffy stiffens, her eyes intent on a corner. He follows the Slayer's gaze to find a dark shadow standing under the light of a street post.

"She's here," Buffy mutters as the brunette - for Giles can see that this is a brunette and a woman - turns to face them.

"Who is this?" Giles question while Buffy practically jogs over the woman.

"I wasn't sure if you would show up," she says to the woman, getting a quick pat on the head from the taller woman.

"I see ya found yer Watcher… and ya got Faith regrettin' her actions," the brunette drawls in a familiar accent. Giles has to frown for a moment before he recognizes it to be exactly the same district accent as Faith's!

"Taking the blame helps?" Buffy asks in disbelief before shaking her head. "Of course, what am I thinking? She sees it as me willingly taking the fall for her - something she thought I wouldn't do."

"Exactly," the woman tells her, looking at Giles. She frowns darkly at the man, causing him to take a half step back. "Watcher," the woman growls lowly that has all the little hairs in his body standing on end, "Yer Council has forgotten its Task." The cold anger in the woman's voice has him prepared to run for his life. That is, until Buffy smacks the woman in the chest, dislodging the glare.

"Don't scare my Watcher to death! He's actually better than all of the others!" Buffy scowls in his defense.

Rubbing her chest where the Slayer had smacked her - with more strength that she probably should have used - the brunette shrugs her shoulders. "Yer Watcher may be different from all other ones. But as of now I have yet to see any redeemin' qualities."

"What, him losing his job as a Watcher doesn't qualify?" Buffy questions. The brunette appears to think it over for a moment before shrugging. "What is that supposed to mean!"

"He is not the first to lose their job," the brunette replies easily, "nor will he be the last."

"But he lost his job for me," the Slayer argues.

"Nevertheless, the Task has been lost unto the Council and their Watchers' ignorant of their true Roles," the woman retorts, turning to walk away. Only pausing to beckon for them to follow. "Returning to the issue at hand, what is yer next plan, Annie?"

Buffy frowns and she crosses her arms across her chest, unsure as she considers what has already happened and what she is trying to do. "She's still in denial, right?" she questions. All she gets from the brunette is a nod which she takes as it is. "We still need to get her to admit it, her role in this… and make her understand that it's not just her fault."

The brunette reaches over and lays her hand on top of Buffy's head, "You're usin' yer head." The Slayer huffs and smacks the woman's hand away. "What else do ya think ya can do?"

"Um… I probably shouldn't include the others. They might react the wrong way and accidently push her away." She looks at the brunette to see that she is nodding her head in agreement. "Wesley and the Council can't find out," she says this directly to Giles and she doesn't need to look at the woman behind her to know that she's tense with a very stern glare focused on her Watcher.

"I wasn't planning on bringing the Council into this and… I think we both know that Wesley is incompetent," Giles reassures her and indirectly the woman behind her.

Buffy turns to the woman and with a bit of hesitation she lays a hand on the woman's arm. The brunette looks at her, an eyebrow arched questioningly. "Should I try talking with Faith?" she asks.

"…" the woman looks skyward for a moment. "At the moment we are at a crossroad," she finally starts to say. "The second Wesley and the Council are thrown into the mix things will take a turn for the worse." She turns to the Slayer next to her. "I say, do what ya feel is right. Let me worry 'bout the consequences." With that she walks off, melting into the shadows like Buffy had seen her do several times.

Giles clear his throat to get Buffy's attention. "If I may make a suggestion," he starts. When he sees that she is waiting for his advice he smiles inwardly. "Faith is in a vulnerable position at this moment. Your…" he trails off as he considers a term for the mysterious woman, "acquaintance has made a valid point about Faith beginning to regret her choice." Buffy nods her head, waiting for him to make his point. "If you go see her I suggest that you make it clear that while I was 'severely' disappointed it was only because you chose to withhold information - not because you killed a man."

"Which in turn may make her more willing to believe that nothing bad will come of it if she comes clean," Buffy exclaims as she understood what he is saying. Giles nods his head, glad that she reached that conclusion with just a bit of guidance. "Great, thanks Giles!" She makes to run off before she pauses, turning to look at the former Watcher. "Do you need me to walk you home?" she asks him before she gets waved away by the man.

She nods her head in acceptance with his nonverbal dismissal and runs off, heading straight for the motel where Faith is staying. Giles, once she is out of sight, looks warily at his surroundings. Because he was so distracted looking for potential dangers that he missed the reemergence of the woman from earlier until she was literally standing next to him.

"Oh good Lord!" he exclaims, jumping when he notices her presence. A quick smirk appears briefly on the brunette's face before disappearing before he can comment on it.

"Fancy a walk with an angel?" the brunette questions teasingly.

"With the way you move I would have mistaken you for a devil," he retorts but nevertheless he accepts the offer. He was no fool - he could sense the power radiating off her lithe form. If he didn't know better he would have assumed that she is a Slayer as well. But that is impossible since Faith had not died - it's not possible for another Buffy maneuver to have occurred… right?

The brunette smirks at him before gesturing for him to lead the way. "I assure ya," she starts with a drawl, "that I am no devil. They can do far worse things than I am allowed to." Giles looks at her with a puzzled expression on his face and she just grins mysteriously at him.

"I don't think I want to know…" he mutters softly.

The woman laughs softly, her hands tucked in her pants' pockets, "I think ya already do know, Rupert 'Ripper' Giles, ya just don't want to admit it." He whirls around to face her only to find that she's gone and… how did they already arrive at his apartment complex?

Amazed that the fact that he went from the street - at least five blocks away - to his apartment in a fraction of a second he looks vainly for the woman. When he doesn't find her he reluctantly accepts the fact that she had vanished. But how did she know his old nickname? Buffy wouldn't have told a random stranger about his past - not unless she truly trusts them.

At that thought he has to consider the fact that they had been somewhat relaxed with one another.

* * *

Buffy knocks on the door to Faith's room, a wary eye on her surrounding as she couldn't shake the feeling that there is someone watching her. When the door swings open she smiles faintly at the brunette. "Hi."

"B…" Faith frowns before stepping aside and wordless gestures for her to come in. When the blonde steps in she closes the door and leans against it, her dark eyes studying the calm Slayer. "I didn't expect to see ya," she finally admits.

Buffy leans against the opposite wall, her hands casually stuffed into her pants' pockets - unconsciously signaling that she's not a threat. "Figured we need to talk," she comments idly.

"This 'bout what happened in the library?" It didn't escape Buffy's notice that the younger girl had tensed slightly.

"Partially," she admits carefully.

"Partially?"

Buffy shrugs her shoulders - mimicking an older version of Faith, "Giles let me off the hook about what happened with Finch with a lecture." She notes that the Dark Slayer was surprised by this.

"I- I thought he'd be… The way he…" Faith clearly didn't know how to explain her jumbled thoughts so she sighed with frustration and gestured vaguely.

"He was upset that… I didn't tell him about what happened. About me killing Finch," Buffy replies, bringing up the lie that Faith had told Giles and the lie she had continued for her. The brunette flinched at the reminder of her actions before a wall slammed up and Buffy couldn't see anything anymore.

"B… I…" Buffy wanted to interrupt but she sensed that she needed to let Faith say what she needs to say. "God," Faith curses to herself, "Why is it so hard?" The brunette rubs her face before shaking her head. "I'm sorry. For putting the blame on ya."

"It wasn't entirely your fault," Buffy insists. She holds her hand up to stop Faith's protests on that matter. "I threw him to you. Yes, I may have realized that he wasn't a vampire but I didn't realize it in time." Buffy removes a hand from her pockets and rubs her face tiredly. "The blame isn't just on you."

Faith looks at her before averting her eyes. "G-man… he wasn't…?"

"Just that I lied," Buffy reassures her.

"… Then he'll really be upset with me?" Faith's question was spoken so softly that Buffy had to wonder whether she had actually heard it.

"Faith… Slayers with more training than you and I combined have made the same mistake," Buffy tells her. "We both panicked, he'll understand that if you ever want to tell him."

"I dunno B…" Faith shakes her head, her arms crossed defensively over her chest.

"I'll be there for you, every step of the way," Buffy tells her before moving away from the wall she has been leaning against. "Listen, I know we have a lot to talk about but… I'll take my leave now. Just… think about what I said, okay?"

Faith nods her head, moving away from the door to open it for Buffy. "B… thanks, ya know, for coverin' me."

"That's what friends are for," Buffy replies with a smile. "I know we have been shitty towards you since you arrived. I'm pretty sure you felt like we treated you like second best or a backup." She ducks her head for a second to think. "You're The Slayer. Emphasis on the 'The'." She looks at the Dark Slayer. "I died already and the torch has been passed along already."

Faith stood there, stunned at Buffy's admission. Before she could say anything the blonde is out of the door and already disappearing down the street. With nothing else to do except close the door - or else look like a complete idiot - she shakes her head. She locks and bolts the door before sitting on the flimsy bed, her hand propped up to support her chin.

She couldn't help that sinking feeling that if her best friend was still around that she'd be a disappointment to her.

_"Always remember that life is short, Fairy, and that ya should always grab it with both hands. Never let go."_ She could hear her friend's husky voice rolling over her like whiskey just like it used to. _"Cherish life and never, ever, treat it like its expendable."_ Had she done that, treat the deputy major like his death was easily to disregard just because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time?

_"Never be afraid of trustin' people, Fairy."_ She remembered being only eight years old and so jaded towards the world. Her friend had recently become a big part of her life, showing up when her mother becomes too high to care for her like a typical mom. Not that she knew what passed for a typical mom since everyone in the Southern Boston district didn't exactly have the best of families. _"There are some jackasses out there, we both know that. But there are some good people. Yer gonna find those people one day, Fairy. Just don't give up hope."_

"Don't give up hope," she mutters out loud before she crawls under the covers, thinking about the great advices she had always gotten from her friend. Advices she have ignored in the last six, seven years. "What can ya do," she mutters as she turns off the light, "when hope keeps yankin' the rug out from under ya?"

**I was stunned when I realized I went a few months without posting! My apologies people! I actually have maybe two more chapters already written up after this one. (One and one fifth to be more accurate) Hopefully I'll avoid not posting for a few months. Please review and lemme know what you think? If you like where this is going and so on so on.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello everyone! I'm here with the next chapter :D Can I hear a whoop whoop? ... Er never mind, I'm going deaf over here. It's not gonna come across loud and clear lol. Gone to a gay pride thing over the weekend and lemme say this. Burned much? That's me right now. Cursed sun. Anyway, there was a reviewer (a guest) who left something and I like to reply to my reviewers. So, Anon, please read this chapter and my reply to you at the end, okay? On with the show!**

_**Chapter 4**_

The brunette leans against one of the signs on top of the rooftops, eyes closed as she listens to the slow approach of the blonde Slayer. Gravel crunching under her soft footsteps. Not quite being quiet like a mouse but pretty close to it.

"Great work earlier," the brunette compliments, angling her head back so that her face is towards the dark skies. Morning was due to come soon.

"Thank you," Buffy whispers as she sits down next to the woman.

They stay there for several long moments just enjoying the view of Sunnydale. They stay like that for quite some time before the brunette sighs and leans forward, rubbing the bridge of her nose at the sudden migraine. "Things just got worse," the woman whispers, her entire body tense and radiating of it.

"What? How?" Buffy exclaims in shock.

"The Watcher, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce," the Slayer could hear the venom in the woman's voice, "he called the Council."

"But we- We didn't speak about the death around him!" she protests.

"He has suspicions," the brunette explains. "He doesn't quite believe that his death is of pure human malice."

"Technically it had human involvement," Buffy mutters softly under her breath.

"That foolish man is going to ruin everythin'," the woman continues like Buffy hadn't said anything. "Somehow he got his hands on the coroner's report."

"Oh my god, the stake!" Buffy gasps when she realizes what the brunette is pointing towards.

"Exactly." Buffy jumps to her feet and dashes over to the ladder. "Annie," she hears the brunette calls to her, pausing with a foot already on the bars. "I… if things go wrong…" she looks at the woman as she waits for to finish. "I can't intervene. Not unless she acknowledges that she needs guidance." Shock doesn't even begin to cover the extent of the emotions Buffy is feeling towards this revelation.

"Why, why is that so important?" Buffy demands tightly.

"It goes with the whole 'Can't tell ya'," is the brunette's short answer.

"But you care a great deal about Faith?" If the Bostonian is so important to her then why is she wasting so much time playing by the rules?

"I died once already, Annie. I'd do it again in a heartbeat," is her only answer. Buffy didn't know what to make of that and shook her head, scaling down the ladder as quickly as possible.

* * *

Buffy pounds her fist at the door, half shouting Faith's name. "Faith! Faith, open the door!" she cries. She was close to her wits end and ready to kick down the door. "Faith, I know you're in there!" she cries, the tingles down her back intensifying.

"B," she hears behind her, causing her to jump in place. She whirls around with a rather vivid blush on her face as the Boston Slayer smirks at her. "Wanna check yer senses?" Faith teases her before the smirk falls when Buffy throws herself at the brunette with a relieved sob. "Whoa, hey, what's wrong?"

"I thought- I thought the Councilmen came already and grabbed you!" came Buffy's muffled reply.

"Wait, what?" Faith pulled away from Buffy, her hands secured at the blonde's shoulders. "The Councilmen?"

"Wesley, he found out," Buffy tells her, her hands gripping the brunette's elbows. "He called the Council and they sent backup to take you back to England." She tightens her grip briefly on Faith before releasing her when she feels her try to pull away. "I swear to god, Faith, I'm not going to let him take you away."

"B, it's the Council!" Faith snaps, "They ain't gonna stop 'til they have me locked up or dead!"

"Then I'll kill them all!" Buffy snaps back heatedly. A stunned silence falls over them as Faith stares at Buffy, shocked at what she said. Buffy, however, was determined - she did not regret those words. "I'd kill them all, Faith. Just to keep you safe."

"B…"

"I failed you once. I failed you too many times," the blonde pauses, shaking her head. "I can't… I refuse to live with myself if I willingly just stood by and let you be taken away." She turns away from Faith, a hand covering her mouth.

"…" Faith didn't know what to say but looking at the blonde slayer she knew that she couldn't let the girl kill for her. She opens the door to her room and slips in, quickly getting her duffle bag out. She tosses clothes, stakes, and the like into the bag - not that she had much that she could call her own. "I need to get outta here," she mutters.

"What, no!" Buffy protests, trying to grab Faith's wrists but found her own seized in a firm but not tight grip.

"B, listen. I ain't gonna let ya kill for me," Faith tells her. "Finch was an accident, you and I both know this. Ya saw how fucked up I got. I'm still fucked up for that matter!" She lets go of Buffy's wrists and pick up her bag. "It hasn't even been a week, B, and the nightmares are hellish." Buffy couldn't see the dark rings under Faith's eyes because of the heavy makeup but she could guess that they're there. "I don't want ya to feel that, B. It ain't a walk in a park."

"But…"

"No, B. What I'm gonna do is run. It's what I've done before and I'll be fine." She could see the reluctance in Buffy's eyes. "B, I'll be okay. I'm an expert in running away."

"But I want you here, in Sunnydale. With… with us."

"We can't get everything we want, B," Faith tells her before walking out of the room, leaving the blonde alone. Buffy stays here for a second before she throws a fist at the wall, burying it up to her mid-forearm.

"I can't…" she mutters to herself as she removes her arm from the drywall. She shakes her hand before storming out of the room with a determined look on her face.

* * *

Buffy walks along the docks, her eyes intent on the cargo boat up ahead. She could see that it is currently being loaded up by workers. She crosses her arms, shivering just slightly under her jacket, as she searches for any signs of Faith.

She passes under a gangplank, the shadow cast by it darkening her appearance in a threatening manner. "Ya just don't know when to give up, do ya?" she hears, startling her from her thoughts.

She turns to find Faith standing at the top of the gangplank, looking like she got into a scuffle recently - causing her to wonder briefly if she ran into the Councilmen in the time it took for her to look for the woman - who was strangely MIA - and to arrive at the docks. She could see that Faith still had her duffle bag on her so she was relieved that even if she got accosted she still managed to come out on top.

"Not on my friends," she tells her, getting a sad hopeful look. A strange combination in her opinion but she took it in stride, thinking that something she said had struck a chord in the brunette.

"We ain't like what ya got with the X-man or Red," Faith points out as she starts walking down the plank, her hands casually stuffed into her pants' pockets.

"That's okay with me. I don't need another Xander making with the corny jokes and supplying the food. Or Willow with her shyness, magic, and computer geek. I love them both but… I want you to be you." Faith was surprised by the speech and, deep inside, moved.

"I can't be like ya, B. A lil' miss goody two shoes. It ain't gonna happen," Faith stops halfway down the plank, leaning on the railing. Her voice gruff as she tries to push the blonde away so that she can leave without regret. Spare the blonde from having to kill for her.

"Nobody's asking you to be like me. Being wild, reckless, and passionate. That's what makes you alive - unique. The world doesn't need another Buffy."

"Are ya ever gonna admit that it scares ya?" Faith asks. She grips the railing and hops over it, landing on the dock with a soft thud. "Being wild and free, it terrifies ya, doesn't it?"

Buffy looks thoughtfully at her. "I like my strategies," she admits slowly, "but you have a point. But a balance… it needs to be found."

Faith stares at her for a moment before she shakes her head, her body radiating tension as she thinks of a surefire way to make Buffy push her away.

"That's not what bothers ya so much," Faith states as she turns back to the blonde. "What bugs ya is that ya know I'm right. Ya know it in yer guts that we don't need the law." Her expression becomes dark, "We _are_ the law."

"No," Buffy couldn't believe what she's hearing. She thought she had gotten through to the brunette. She needed to find the woman, she wasn't prepared for Faith to take two giant steps back! She turns her back and walks away with Faith right behind her.

"Yes, ya know exactly what I'm 'bout 'cause ya have it in ya too."

"No, Faith, you're wrong. We're not the judge, jury, and executioner! We weren't made to fight human evil!"

"Why not, B! The whole world is going to shit. Someone gotta do somethin' 'bout it!" Faith shakes her head when she sees that Buffy isn't raising to that so she switch tactics. "I've seen it in ya, B. Ya got the lust and I ain't just talkin' 'bout screwing vampires."

Buffy stops in her tracks at Faith's words, anger surging forward at the not so subtle jab at her history with Angel. "Don't you _dare_ bring him into this," she warns.

"It was good, wasn't it?" Faith continues, "The sex? The danger? Bet a part of ya even dug him when he went psycho."

"No!" Buffy snaps as she stomps ahead.

"See," Faith follows her again, "ya need me to toe the line because yer afraid yer gonna go over it, aren't ya, B? Ya can't handle watchin' me livin' it up - having a blast 'cause it tempts ya so fuckin' badly! Ya know it could be ya!"

Buffy has had enough. She stops, turning to face her, and backhand punches her in the jaw. Faith stumbles back but it couldn't hide the wicked smile on her bleeding mouth. "There's my girl."

"No," Buffy mutters, regretting the fact that she punched the Dark Slayer. "I'm not gonna do this."

"Why the hell not!" Faith snaps, "It feels good, doesn't it? The blood rising up inside?!" She knows that Buffy could feel the same thing she always feel when she slays. She doesn't know when it changed from pushing Buffy away to trying to get her to understand her side.

Buffy hears a noise above them, causing her to look and notices a palette of crates falling. To her horror she realizes that it is going to fall directly onto Faith and shoves her out of the way. The crates hits her instead and she goes down, getting a good bump on the head that dazes her but she is still conscious.

"B!" Faith shouts as she gets up, making to go help Buffy. When Mr. Trick and three other vampires suddenly show up on the attack.

Faith spins around when she hears them roar, but is soundly punched in the face by Trick, forcing her body to snap to the side. He and another one grab her by her jacket and throw her to the ground. As Faith tries to get to her feet, the second vampire roundhouse kicks her in the face. She blocks it and drops a bit, but manages to get up and block an uppercut from the third one by grabbing his hand.

She backhand punches him in the face, making him step back to keep his balance, and turns to face the second vampire. She high blocks a wide swing from him and punches him, making him fall, but the third one behind her flat hands her in the back and she stumbles.

From under the crates Buffy has just finally starts to come out of her daze, with a large marching band stomping its way across her head with cleats. "Oh, god," she mutters under her breath as she starts to work her way out from underneath. She could hear Faith fighting and feeling the presence of at least four vampires.

The third vampire holds Faith with her arms behind her back. She tries to get free by snapping her heel backwards and striking his kneecap. That has no effect, so she snaps her head back and butts him dead in the nose, but the vamp still doesn't let go of her. The second vampire launches into a half spinning hook kick intended for Faith, but she ducks it and the demon holding her takes the blow, forcing him to let go of her as he goes down.

Faith flies into full spinning, jumping out-to-in crescent kick, hitting the second vampire hard in the face and sending him spinning to the ground. The first vampire runs at her, but she sidesteps him and shoves him into the third, who was just getting up. He isn't knocked down, though, and comes at her. She grabs him and pulls him with her toward the water, and throws him off the dock.

Buffy is out of her daze now, and with difficulty pulls her legs out from under the pallet of crates that fell on her. She gets to her feet, but is immediately punched by Mr. Trick. She falls spinning onto the crates and rolls off onto the concrete. She gets to her feet as Trick approaches and tries to backhand punch him, but he blocks it, so she punches him in the gut instead. Her jab is weak, though, and has no effect on him. Trick does a painful right hook to her face. Buffy stumbles backward. Trick advances and swings again, this time snapping her head back with a powerful uppercut, making her fall onto another pile of crates.

Faith does a half-spinning hook kick, connecting with the second vampire's jaw. He falls onto an open barrel and struggles not to fall in. The first one comes at her again, but she has her stake out now and jams it home. He explodes into ashes. She looks over and sees Buffy struggling with Mr. Trick. He wraps a cord around her neck and begins to choke her. But Faith isn't finished with her fight yet. The second vampire throws off the barrel, only to become intimate with her stake and burst into ashes.

Faith sees Trick yank at the cord around Buffy's neck and pull her off of the crates. He pulls her up and swings her around into a pallet leaning against still more crates. She hits it hard and falls to the pavement. Faith looks around, trying to decide what to do. She sees Trick pick Buffy up again and slam her against the huge crates. Buffy struggles to get loose, but the cord around her neck is too tight.

"I hear once you've tasted a Slayer," Mr. Trick says with a vicious smile, "you never wanna go back." He opens his fang-filled mouth wide and moves in for the bite. Buffy struggles to keep him away, but can't. Suddenly Mr. Trick stops and looks up in wide-eyed shock. "Oh, no," he starts as he shakes his head, "No, this is no good at all."

He begins to fall and explodes into ashes as Faith pulls her stake back. The two Slayers look at each other uncertainly for a long while. Faith lowers her stake. Buffy massages her neck.

"Don't leave…" Buffy pleas Faith, sad green eyes looking up at her as dark brown eyes stares at her. "We've both said stupid things," she mutters, "but I care." She ducks her head, "I care about what happens to you."

"Damn it B," Faith curses, rubbing her face. "Why do ya have to be so fuckin' difficult?!"

"I wouldn't be me," Buffy whispers, clearing her throat a few times.

"I have to say," they suddenly hear a husky voice say, causing the two Slayers to whirl around - ready for action. "I have never, ever, met such stubborn girls 'fore until I met the two of ya."

Buffy looks up to find the older brunette perched at the edge of one of the roofs, dark eyes glinting down at them. Faith sees the woman's features when the brunette leans forward for one of the streetlamps to cast some light across her.

She feels her breath catch as she stares at the angular face, her memories causing a maelstrom as they clatter for attention. "Alex," she whispers softly, getting a smirk from the woman.

"Alex?" Buffy questions, looking at the Slayer next to her.

"That's my name," the older woman says from her position, leaning back into the shadows. "Don't wear it out." Faith couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"But… you died, Al." Buffy's eyes felt like a ping pong game now, flipping back and forth between the two brunettes.

"I did."

Not even a heartbeat went by before Faith had her stake out which has Buffy lunging for the Slayer with a quick 'No'. "She's not a vampire!" Buffy exclaims, gripping the hand holding the stake with both hands.

"B?"

"I…" she didn't know how to explain it.

"I've been helpin' her, Fairy," the woman above them states bluntly for the blonde. "I told ya, Fairy, I'm always gonna be here to watch over ya."

"Then ya did a piss poor job of that then," Faith snaps, freeing herself from Buffy.

"Did I really? Were ya raped after I came into yer life?" the woman asks. "Were ya a victim of any of yer ma's boyfriends? Did ya die from starvation?" With each question Faith's expression got increasingly darker. It made Buffy step back as she sense that Faith was probably seconds from exploding. "How, pray tell, did I fail ya, Fairy?"

"YOU FUCKIN' DIED!" Faith shouts angrily at the woman.

The brunette sighs before jumping off the roof, landing without so much of a pained grunt or anything to signify that jumping from a three stories building was painful. If Buffy had any doubt about whether or not the woman is of supernatural origin it was blown out of the waters by that display. "Didn't I tell ya, Fairy, that I have wings?"

Both slayers looked at her in confusion. Well, Buffy was more like 'What in the world?' sort of confused while Faith was like 'Yeah, your point?' confused.

"Did ya think I was jokin'?" the brunette continues, walking towards them. "Did ya think that I wasn't bein' honest 'bout what I am?" Faith steps back from the older girl, her eyes narrowed. Buffy looks back and forth between the brunettes again, torn between what to do. Get in the way and keep the older woman away from the Dark Slayer or stop Faith from running away. "Yer the Slayer, Fairy. Just like I promised ya would be."

That forces Faith to stop retreating and she looks at the slightly taller woman. "Ya… yer jokin'." But a single look at the woman's face revealed that no, she wasn't joking. So she runs her hands through her hair, fisting her hair at the nape of her neck as she tries to recall this.

"_One day, Fairy, yer gonna be at the top of the world,"_ she recalls. _"Yer gonna make the Darkness fear yer name. Gonna make them cower at the word Faith."_

"…You did," Faith mutters, shaking her head as she drops her hands. "What I don't get is… how can ya be here? I saw ya fall that day. That bastard stabbed ya in the freakin' heart!"

The Slayers flinch when the brunette reaches into the duster she is wearing and removes a dull looking knife. Faith recognizes as the knife that stabbed her friend in the heart. Buffy recognizes it as the knife the older brunette had been playing with. An ancient ceremonial knife that almost looks plain except for the wicked writing on the blade.

"I assume," the brunette starts with a low drawl, "ya mean this one." She tosses the knife to Buffy, glad to be rid of it. "Now, Fairy, ya gonna stop running? Yer gonna face what ya did?" Faith's face tightened as her old friend called her on what she did, what she has done since that accident.

"_Cherish life and never, ever, treat it like its expendable."_ She turns around and starts walking away, leaving a disappointed brunette behind.

"I'll take that as a big fuckin' no," the woman mutters before she is offered the knife. "Nah, keep it with ya. Ya never gonna know when ya need to kill a Devil."

"Devil?" Buffy didn't know what to make of that.

The woman looks down at her with dark unreadable eyes. "I suggest keepin' an eye on Faith. The Councilmen are still 'round. I could do somethin' 'bout it but like I said 'fore. She needs to acknowledge that she needs guidance. Right now she's accepted the fact that she killed a man, but she ain't doin' this the right way." The woman curses in a language Buffy couldn't readily identify. "Damn that Watcher. She was close to confessin' to yer Watcher."

"I'll work on her again," Buffy volunteers.

"I suggest dealin' with Mr. Wyndam-Pryce," the brunette tells her. "If ya get to him and make him back off then the Council will back off." The woman turns away and makes to disappear into the darkness.

"Wait!" the blonde calls after her. When she sees that the woman stopped she rushed her question. "How can you still be alive if Faith saw you die?"

The brunette turns partially, standing at the line between light and dark. "I suggest, Annie, askin' yer Watcher, Mr. Giles. I suspect by now that he has a good estimate of what I am." With that she disappears into the shadows.

**Wow, I'm stunned to realize that I only have two scene changes? Daaang, the dock scene too forever! Does anyone feel like we did a step forward and two steps back here? Sure does feel like it to me and I'm the one writing this. *glares at the Slayers* Uncooperative girls.**

**Anon, I'm glad you like the story so far. The back story is mostly something that has already been established before I jumped into this. I'm just adding my own twist into things. And I dunno, Anon, who do you think she is? If this chapter answered that question then I'm glad you sorta read my mind! If it didn't then I have to consider the fact that you're thinking something else. Giles' reactions were pretty much what happened in the show. I just made some adjustments in how Buffy reacted when she found out about what Faith told him and went according to that. And I suppose my OC's identity was obvious to everyone except Buffy and the cast ne? I hope you liked this chapter!**

**Also, I wanna thank Ltlconf and miketech for following the story. And Ltlconf for giving me further insight into Faith's mindset. Hopefully I'll be able to use this information to help the story process because after a bit I think we're gonna start deviating from the season shows and that's what I'm going on right now -_-" Anyway R&R folks!**


	5. Chapter 5

_**Thank you everyone for following/favoriting/reviewing. Welcome, Dee (guest), Davide (another guest), Bulletproof Gunner, Inoeth, and candyg0103. Thank you once again and I hope you enjoy this chapter. **_

_**Chapter 5**_

Buffy was prepared to kick asses and take no names when she stormed into the Library. Her eyes immediately picking out Wesley's form in the room. She could see Giles working on something in his office but when the doors swung shut behind her he looks up to her.

"Buffy," he greets before he is startled silent by the Slayer's actions.

She had stomped her way over to Wesley and her fists grabs his vest before slamming him into the closest wall available, getting a nervous squeak from the man. "You bastard," she growls, "Why the hell did you call up the Council?"

Giles was stunned by Buffy's aggressiveness. Wesley, while nervous to be facing the wrath of a Chosen One, tries to clear his throat to answer the blonde slayer. "The coroner's findings reported that the man died from having his heart staked by something wooden and pointy."

"And your point? You didn't stick around to talk with me? Just called up your dear old Council to report me?!" Buffy shouts.

This confused Wesley a great deal. "You staked him?" he questions in disbelief. He had been so sure that it was Faith's fault! The girl was so wild that murder wouldn't have been far from the top of her list!

"You damn right I did!" Buffy didn't care that she was possibly setting herself up for a shipment to the good old Motherland. She just wanted Faith to be safe from them. She had to make up for her mistakes, right?

"Buffy!" Giles shouts, shocked and stunned by this.

"Be glad you're lucky," the blonde ignores her Watcher, "That I'm actually in a good mood or else I'd stake your stupid ass." She releases him and - looking at her Watcher - leaves the library, fully aware that Wesley will send the Councilmen after her and that Giles will try to stop him. But she's counting on him not to listen to Giles.

* * *

For the first time in her life the woman was hating the rules with a passion. Before it was always a minor irritation but now. Now she has a good reason to want to toss the stupid igit book into the burning fires of Hell. She paces back and forth on the rooftop where Buffy normally looks for her.

Buffy. By the gods, what were they thinking? A good kid from what she can see but she could see the world on her shoulders. So much like that myth from the Greeks. Atlas, she thinks the name is. Except, wasn't he holding up the sky? She shakes her head to refocus on the task at hand.

"God fuckin' hell," she mutters, randomly stringing words together to curse. "Admit it already." She resumes pacing, her hands flexing as she worries a path on the rooftop. Dark eyes staring down at the gravel. When she hears a subtle crunch that isn't in sync with her steps she turns suddenly. "Michael," she greets the man coldly.

In the light of day she can see every detail on him far better than before. Not that she ever needs the light.

The tall blonde man is - as usual - dressed in the fanciest suits the world has to offer. He is wearing a deep metallic grey shade suit, a three piece if she recalls right. The blazer is not a typical one either, featuring a stylish stand up collar that makes her think tacky. The shirt is a deep red that reminds her of coppery red blood.

She shakes her head at the sight of his round sunglasses. She would have gone with aviator or wraparound sunglasses instead and definitely forgo on the suits. "What can I do for ya?" she questions, her eyes dark and cold.

She watch him remove his shades and level an equally cold look at her. She shrugs her shoulders and wait for him to make his case.

"It just recently come to our attention that you have now put Buffy Anne Summers in the direct line of sight for the Council," he starts, the glasses disappearing as he releases it and is replaced by a file. She recognizes it as Buffy's by the red and blue mark at the tab. Red for death and blue for Alive. The only Slayer in the world to actually escape death - for now anyway.

"Your point?" she asks gruffly.

"While the order was for you to fix the mess Faith Lehane had found herself in, it was not at the expense of Buffy Summers."

"No one was ever clear on what can and cannot happen," she shrugs her shoulders, seemingly not caring about what he is currently talking about.

"The bosses decided to give you another task."

"And that would be?" She watches him close the file, releasing it to return to whence it came. She did not like that smug smile on his face.

"To now get Summers and Lehane out of the mess they have created," he states, her jaw tightening in disbelief of what he just said.

"Oh no," she growls, "Get her fuckin' -." She couldn't finish that sentence because with one hit she was knocked flying off the roof. Crashing harshly onto the pavement below, her eyes darkening as she growls angrily, her mind catching up with what just happened. "MICHAEL!" she screams as she forms a flawless kip up. The blonde man was already on the pavement, less than ten feet away.

"You will do as you are told," the man says coldly, his icy blue eyes flashing red for a moment. Just a brief moment but it was enough to have the woman pause, her anger thick and almost palpable around her. She wanted to throw herself at him, to wrap her hands around his neck and suffocate him! "You will remember your place, Aingeal, or I will seek to have you retired!" (1)

The word washes over her and she has to resist growling her anger at him. She couldn't afford being retired, not now - not when she needs to help Fairy. Damn it! "My apologies, Michael." She didn't bow to him, didn't kneel, showed none of the respect customary towards him and he knew it. But he expected no better.

"Now what are your orders?" he questions, his eyes narrowed at her.

"I am to get Buffy Anne Summers and Faith Kara Lehane out of the mess they have put themselves into as a result of what happened with Deputy Mayor Allen Finch," she reports monotonously.

"Good," he nods his head before turning to leave. However, he stops when he recalls something and looks at her. She had yet to turn her eyes from him so when he looked at her again she raises a brow in question. "You are permitted to intervene without verbal askance for this mission alone."

She couldn't control the surprise that appeared on her face. "You mean I can-."

"Indeed. I suggest starting with Buffy Anne Summers. Ah, that reminds me. You are now her temporary Caomhnóir. I suggest you do not mess up." With that he disappears into the shadows and she is left standing in the crater shaped like her body, stunned beyond words. (2)

"Things just got interestin'," she mutters, slipping back into the Boston accent she had abandoned when Michael gave her that frosty look. Ironic considering everything.

She shakes her head and decides to focus on the task at hand, deciding that she'd best go and find Annie and see what sort of mess she found herself in.

* * *

Buffy had spent maybe fifteen - twenty minutes max packing clothes, essentials, money and the like in a duffle bag she kept around from her days running away. She found it hard to believe that it had been less a year ago that she ran away from Sunnydale after sending Angel to a hell dimension. She stands at the doorway, her eyes wondering briefly over her room. Hadn't she promised Willow, in this room, that she wasn't going to run away again? She had and now, less than six months later, she was about to break it. And for who?

Faith.

She closes her eyes as she considers this. For Faith she risks everything. The Slayer and the has-been, she had stopped being The Slayer when she died. She's just sorry it took her so long to realize this.

She leaves the letters on the kitchen table for her mom to find, locking the door as she left.

She didn't need to look around to know that the Council men were already there. She gives the house one last look before walking down the street, heading for the bus. She wasn't going to give them much of a fight but she wanted to make it seem like she skipped town. She just hope that Faith will be okay.

She was rounding the corner when she feels a prick and a woozy feeling quickly settles in. With a groan she stumbles, dropping down to one knee as she fights against the feeling. Her hazel eyes finding the Councilmen as they jog to her, a car starting and pulling up to the curb nearby. Looks like she won't be able to leave that trail after all…

Her eyes roll up into her head as she loses the battle with the tranquilizer, dropping like a sack of potatoes. Darkness cradling her as the men lift her into the black unmarked van, binding her wrists to shackles bolted down to the floor of the van.

She doesn't know how long she's been out when she finally starts to come to. But what she does know is that whoever is talking is probably getting really overconfident from bagging a Slayer who was already throwing in the towel. She listens to them for a few moments longer before making some noise, opening her eyes to find Wesley sitting across from her.

"I'm sorry for the extreme measures," the young Watcher tells her as she straightens herself with a wince. "Unfortunately this is a rather extreme circumstance."

Buffy shakes her head at the man. "It's only that way because you made it so."

"Pardon me if my memory is faulty. But you stormed into the Library, slammed me into a wall, and proceeded to yell at me about the Council." Buffy snorts. "What, pray tell, is so amusing?"

"Do you understand why I did all that? Or did you think that because I've been alive for three, four years that I've become unstable?" The flush in his face suggested that she may have been on the mark for that one. "Do you realize who you went after for Finch's death?"

"Faith," he answers simply.

"Yeah, Faith. The person who is innocent in this whole fucked up mess." She glares at him harshly for that. Lies pouring out of her mouth but to protect Faith and to keep The Slayer out of prison or Council punishment she's willing to do anything. "And why did you think it was her? Or did you forget that there are two Slayers now? Two patrols. Twice the danger."

"Please, believe me when I say that nobody is rushing to judgment," Wesley tries to smooth Buffy's anger.

"Nobody eh?" she shakes her head. "I guess that means your name is 'Nobody' since that's exactly what you did!"

"The first priority of both myself and the Council is to help you," Wesley shakes his head.

"You've betrayed your true Role!" she snaps, startling the young man. "You've forgotten your Task!" She didn't know whatever it was they forgot but she had seen the cold fear in Giles' face at the mention of their Task and she can see it now in Wesley's face. It was important and enough to strike fear into their hearts. It didn't make sense when she recalls the brunette's words. About how they had forgotten their Tasks and the Watchers are ignorant of their true roles.

"How do you know about that?" Wesley whispers, his voice low and hesitant. Further confirming that something fishy is going on.

"I have my sources," she bluffs, uneasy when she sees a dark look on his face. She watches him turn to the henchman next to him.

"Tighten her restraints and give her another dose. I need to inform the Council about this. Apparently we have a leak." She shifts as the henchman nears her with a wrench before kicking the man in the knee once he is in range. He falls to the floor and she presses down on his face with her shoe, her eyes darkening as she stares down the alarmed Wesley.

"Unlock these," she growls. "I'd hate to have to bust this guy's head. These shoes are pretty expensive." The henchman beneath her foot groans and starts to struggle so she presses down a bit more firmly on his temple, causing him to still as he becomes aware of her.

She sees Wesley's eyes dart down as he hesitates and follows it to the wrench that had fallen free from the henchman's hand. "Don't even think about it," she warns him. When his shoulders slumps just a bit she knows that he has realized that he is beaten. She watches him carefully as he moves to her, unlocking the cuffs. She takes a second to massage her bruised wrists, her eyes steady as she keeps an eye on him.

"You can't keep running forever," he warns her. She smirks at him before throwing a hard right hook at his face, causing him to reel. He manages to grab the wrench on the floor and tries to hit her but she catches his wrist, forcing him to drop it when she bends it back.

"Warn again, Wes," she mutters darkly. "Don't you ever get tired of being wrong?" she quips before head-butting him. She drops his prone form and - spying her duffle bag, she grabs it - goes to the doors. She kicks them open and jumps out of the moving van before the driver thinks to question what is happening in the back. She rolls a few times before coming to a stop, lifting her head to watch the van drive away.

"That could've gone better," she mutters to herself as she picks herself up, glancing around to get her bearings. Time to get gone, to quote someone.

"Hello, Buffy," she hears suddenly, causing her to whirl around as she drops into a fighting stance. Her duffle bag hits the pavement in that split second. She blinks when she recognizes the dark brunette stepping out of the shadows.

"Oh, hi," she greets the woman before she recalls her name. "Alex, right?"

"That's the name I gave Fairy, yes," the woman shrugs her shoulders.

"What is your name?"

"It's too long to pronounce in this language," is her casual response before Buffy realizes that the woman is looking her up and down. "I see ya managed to escape the Council's grasp for now."

"You knew that would happen?" Buffy questions, stunned.

"I only just came for ya, Annie," the brunette tells her, shaking her as she leans down to pick up Buffy's bag. "Packed light I see," she comments idly when she feels the weight. "Plannin' on goin' somewhere?"

"I need to get out of town for a bit," Buffy states curtly, her eyes unhappy with Alex. She attempts to get her bag from the brunette only to get sidestepped.

"I thought ya wanna help Fairy. Can't do that if yer on the run," she tells the young girl.

"This is the best way I can help her. The Council will always be after her until they get her back in their clutches," Buffy snaps as she tries again.

"You truly are a martyr," Alex shakes her head, dodging the blonde still. "Shoulderin' the whole fuckin' world. Ya aspirin' to be like Atlas?"

"The book? No," Buffy blinks when she gets the disbelieving look from the woman. She reconsiders the brunette's words and tries to recall if there was something else that had the same name. "Oh wait, isn't there a myth about someone named Atlas?" she finally questions.

"Atlas, a Greek Titan, tasked by Zeus to forever separate Uranus, the sky, from Gaia, the earth," Alex explains bluntly.

"Right," Buffy mutters before she realizes what the brunette was saying. "Wait, hey I'm not trying to be like him!"

"You could've fooled me," the brunette smiles at the words, letting the indignant girl know that she is only teasing. Buffy couldn't help but notice that the brunette's accent has vanished. The woman steps close to the blonde, her eyes dark as she studies the girl. "Your life is just as important to her just as hers is to you." She tilts Buffy's head back so that their eyes can meet. "She would not be happy if she found that you tried to sacrifice yourself to keep her safe."

"I don't know what else to do!" Buffy cries, throwing her arms back as she throws herself away from the brunette's touch. "I don't know how else to protect her!"

"Just be there for her, Annie," Alex tells her. "That's the best thing you can do." The brunette stays where she stood as Buffy paces back and forth. "Faith is just beginning to trust you, to accept you into her life. By willingly allowing yourself to get captured and nearly getting yourself killed by the order of the Council by revealing too much information you risked destroying everything you worked so hard to get."

"How do you know all that?" Buffy questions, suspicious.

Alex smiles warily at her before walking away, with Buffy's bag. "When yer me, ya get used to seein' everythin'." Buffy scrambles after her, unwilling to part with her bag. "Listen, Annie. Do ya wanna help Faith or ya wanna tear her down?"

"Help her, of course!"

"Then ya can't leave."

"But the Council-."

"Will be dealt with once Faith confesses her part in the role to yer Watcher," Alex states. She looks at the nearest clock for the time. "Now, what do ya say we do somethin' to help Faith?" She doesn't wait for Buffy to answer her, making her way to the motel where Faith is staying.

* * *

Alex, and Buffy by reluctant association, walked towards Faith's motel room when they hear her cursing and a loud ruckus that has the blonde slayer running ahead. The door to the room breaks in as Faith comes flying out, crashing harshly at the pavement outside. A pair of vampires walk out of the room, sniggering and boasting loudly about how they're gonna have a taste of Slayer blood.

Buffy quickly jabs one with her stake, catching him unaware. She then turns to the outraged partner of the slayed vampire, her body tense for a fight. But before anything happens the vampire's face morphs into surprise before he falls into dust, revealing the older woman.

"You know how to stake a vampire?"

"What do good do you think we are?" the brunette sighs as she shakes her head, dusting herself off before walking over to the quiet Boston girl. A quick look over her reveals that nothing seems to be wrong with her so she helps her up. "Still don't wanna talk to me, Fairy?" she asks when the brunette shrugs her off and tries to head back into the motel room.

Alex wasn't having that so she grabs the Boston girl's hand, yanking her to her chest. "We tried the easy way," she whispers huskily to the brunette, "So now we're gonna do it _MY_ way." She grabs Buffy's hand.

A flash of light blinds anyone looking at the trio and if anyone had been there to witness this they would be at a lost to explain how the three of them disappeared with no evidence of their presence. Even the broken door of one of the motel rooms was repaired - looking like nothing ever happened.

_**Oh funsies will never cease to end ne? Also, before I forget I need to put in the translations, don't I?**_

_**(1) aingeal - Angel**_

_**(2) caomhnóir - Guardian**_

_**I hoped everyone enjoyed this chapter! Where did Alex take our favorite Slayers? Just what is she capable of? Also, I think I need to work on tying up some loose ends. Aiyiyi. Not my strong points. Anyway, please review! Lemme know if there's something hinky about the chapters if there is something.**_


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